I've Missed You
by Mor'DuTheBronyBear
Summary: Ed is convinced that he'll never find another girl, for no one can compare to Winry. The trouble is, Ed is stuck in Germany with Al, and Winry is back in Amestris. What happens when Ed meets a girl that resembles Winry, who even shares a similar name? Ed has no clue that the longer he's with this "other" Winry, the more he's hurting the real Winry back home. CoS!verse, EdWin
1. Prologue

_Prologue for I've Missed You_

_Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell sat side by side on the couch in the Rockbell's home, her right leg lightly brushing his left automail leg. She sniffed and wiped a tear away as Ed got to his feet, walking towards the door. It broke his heart to hear his friend cry that way, but he and Al had to leave; they had to get their bodies back. Before he reached the door, he stopped._

_"Winry, I..." He sighed heavily. "I wish I could convince you that Al and I will be okay." He looked at her and tried to smile. "We'll be fine, and we'll always come back. I promise."_

_She just cried harder. "H-How can you be so sure? What if... What if you can't find the stone? What if something k-kills you? Ed, you know I couldn't t-take that..."_

_He was kneeling on the floor in front of her in an instant. He grasped her face in his hands, making her flinch from his cold automail fingers._

_"You idiot! You really think we would go and get killed, knowing how much it would hurt you!? We could never do that!" He sighed and whispered, "I would never be so reckless. I couldn't hurt you like that, Win. That's why you've got to trust me."_

_She closed her eyes as tears fell silently. Ed wrapped his arms around her._

_"I promise you, Winry. We'll come back, and Al and I will be back to normal."_

_Winry sighed against his neck and asked, "Edward?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"Can I tell you something?"_

_He released the hug to look at her. "Sure. What's up?"_

_Winry suddenly looked very nervous, her hands shaking a little._

_"Well, uh, it's something that I've wanted to say for a long time, and I think you should know before you go."_

_He looked at his friend impatiently. "Winry, spit it out."_

_She made a little "hmph" sound and crossed her arms. "I'm in love with you, okay?"_

_Ed's eyes widened. "W-What did you just say?"_

_"You heard me, alchemy freak."_

_They were both silent for a few minutes until Winry spoke. "Ed? You're not mad, are you?"_

_He blushed intensely as he kissed her, his eyes slipping closed. When they parted, he replied cheekily, "Do I seem mad, machine geek?"_

"Winry? Did you hear me, dear?"

Winry gasped and realized where she was. Mrs. Anderson's automail lay on the table in front of her, parts scattered here and there. The elderly woman was looking at her from the medical cot.

"Is something the matter?"

Winry shook her head vigorously. "No, no, everything's fine, Mrs. Anderson. Just thinking about something." She sighed and went back to work, connecting the wires and screwing the metal plate back on. She brought the leg over to the woman's bed and placed it in the nerve port, connecting the wires.

"If you don't mind me asking, dear, what had you thinking so deeply?"

Winry blushed a little but never faltered in her work. She sighed and replied simply, "About my friend, about a conversation we had a long time ago."

The woman nodded. Winry pulled the lever, and the woman grit her teeth as her nerves connected to the steel limb. Once she was sure she was okay, Winry chuckled a little and said, "You remind me of my friend, actually. He was like you whenever I connected his nerves; he never let show how much it hurt."

The woman cocked an eyebrow. "He? You wouldn't happen to be talking about that Edward Elric fella, would you?"

Winry nodded. "Yes."

She walked the woman to the door. As she was paying, she asked, "I haven't heard about that boy in quite some time. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to him, would you?"

Winry took the money and put it in the cash register. "No, ma'am, I don't know." That was the truth; Winry knew that Ed and Al were gone, living in some other world, but she would never fully know what happened to them.

"I see. And what about his little brother, Alphonse? I understand he didn't have a body inside that armor. Was that resolved?"

The blonde mechanic gave the woman a sad smile. "If you don't mind, Mrs. Anderson, I really don't want to talk about this." She sighed. "The memories are just... too painful."

Mrs. Anderson patted Winry on the back. "I understand, my dear. Some matters are too close to our hearts to discuss."

With that, the woman left the house. Winry cleaned up her table and went to wash her hands. On the way to her bathroom, she passed the bulletin board that held all the pictures of when the trio was young, before the brothers she loved went through such a horrible tragedies, before they got sent to another world, where she would never see them again.

She caressed a picture of an older Edward with the back of her hand as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"You said you would always come back, Ed. Are you ever coming home again?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"This was a great idea, Al. This is just what I needed."

The Elric brothers sat happily on a park bench, side by side. Alphonse had suggested that he and Edward take a walk in the park, to see if the fresh air would help get the creative process going. Ed had become an author, like his late friend, Alfons Heiderich, had suggested a couple of years prior, and he was having an awful case of writers' block.

"I'm glad to see you happy again, Brother. Whenever you get writers' block, you're so grouchy."

Ed tipped his head back to look at the sky. "Yeah, it's no fun being stuck."

He realized the irony of his words immediately. The thoughts inside the blond's mind were as trapped as the blond himself, trapped in a world where they just wanted out. But, Ed and his brother were stuck in that world for good. They missed home, but at least they had each other again.

Al nodded. "There's just one thing I've been curious about lately."

Ed tilted his head towards Al. "What's that?"

"Why don't you have a girlfriend yet, Brother?"

Ed blushed instinctively. "W-what the hell, Alphonse!? Where did that come from?"

Al just laughed a little. "Well, any girl would want you. I just wondered why the great Edward Elric was still single."

Ed sighed and said, "Three things. One: I'm not the 'great' anything. Nobody knows me here, Al, remember? Two: You're only 14. What do you know about girls?"

Al crossed his arms and made a pouty face that was quite cute instead of the annoyed look Al had meant to express. "I know things, Brother. I'm not a kid anymore."

Ed sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You're not little anymore. I guess I just don't want you to grow up."

Al punched his arm lightly. "When did you get so sappy?"

"I guess it comes with age."

"Ah. Anyway, what was the third thing?"

Edward ran a hand through his bangs. "Well, to tell the truth, and this'll sound even more sappy, I don't think I could care about anyone other than Winry, Al."

Al nodded. "I understand. I know how much she meant to you. It would be hard to replace her."

Ed scoffed. "Not just hard; it would be impossible to replace her."

The elder Elric looked at his brother, smiling a little."She's the only one I'll ever love, Al, and that's how things will stay."


	2. Her

The sharp, overwhelming scent of various disinfectants pierced Ed and Al's noses as they entered the clinic. It was time for Ed's bi-monthly prosthetics checkup, and Ed wasn't exactly happy about it. Al had to drag him out of bed that morning, as if the younger was the elder, and vice versa. Ed brushed his reluctance off as more writer's block, but that was far from the true reason.

Ever since the conversation with Al in the park, Ed had been unable to get Winry out of his mind. Thoughts of her plagued his restless mind day in and day out, keeping him up at night and making him irritable during the day. He missed her terribly, but there was nothing he could do about it.

So, naturally, waking up early for his appointment had made him angry, and sad, too, because it just reminded him of Winry even more. Ed wasn't sure if Al knew what he was going through, but he would never tell Al. Al would just worry about him, and Ed didn't want that at all.

Ed walked slowly, almost reluctantly, to the sign-in desk while Al took a seat. He signed his name on the form and wrote the time he arrived next to it. Then he joined Al in the waiting room, leaning forward in his chair and propping his flesh elbow on his thigh while he rested his head on his clenched fist. He sighed deeply, the exhale making his blond bangs flow softly in front of his tired face. Beside him, Al sighed as well and said, "I wish you would tell me what's wrong, Brother. You've been upset about something for days. At least try to be nice to the doctor today."

"It's nothing important, Al. Don't worry about me." He leaned back so that his back touched the chair and looked at his brother. "And when have I ever been rude to that old guy? I kinda have to be grateful. He's the only one that can adjust my automail. Most people can't do something that complex, since it's not common at all."

Al nodded. "He truly is amazing at his job. But I still worry about you being rude, since you've been nothing but grouchy with me lately."

Ed sighed deeply and smiled a little. "Sorry, Al. I shouldn't be so grumpy with you. You didn't do anything."

"Then what is it?"

Ed's smile faded. "I said I don't want to talk about it."

Al crossed his arms. "Fine, fine. You can tell me anything, though."

Ed said nothing more, just stared blankly at a spot on the boring beige wall in front of him.

"Mr. Edward Elric?"

A nurse stood in the doorway, holding a clipboard and wearing an obviously forced smile. Ed and Al rose from their chairs and followed the nurse into the main treatment area. The clean scent, Ed observed, had become even more overbearing, if that was at all possible. The brothers were led to their normal spot behind the white sheet that separated one bed from another, Ed taking a seat on the medical cot and Al sitting in a nearby chair. The sunlight that poured through the window was hitting the sheet just right, so that they were able to see who was on the other side. To Ed's surprise, it wasn't the elderly male doctor's silhouette he saw, but that of a young woman, about the same age as himself, it seemed. She was gathering her medical supplies and fiddling with various things. Ed, curious, cleared his throat.

"Um, excuse me, but where is Dr. McMan?"

The woman poked her head around the sheet, and Ed almost fell off of the bed. Beside him in the chair, Al gasped a little and shifted uncomfortably. She looked exactly like Winry, from the long blonde hair to her bright blue eyes all the way down to her... white doctor's coat. Well, that was new.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Elric, but Dr. McMan has retired." She gave him a smile that only Winry could give, and it shook him to the core. "I'm his replacement!"

All thoughts of the girl's uncanny resemblance to his beloved gone, Ed replied with, "But he's the only one who can fix my au- I mean, metal prosthetics."

Winry- or whoever she was- smiled. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Why do you think Dr. McMan retired? I was his apprentice. Once I learned enough, he let me take his place."

Ed just nodded. He set a new goal of trying to read her name tag without blatantly staring at her breast like some sort of creep. He stole subtle glances every now and then, and he was able to read almost everything except her last name. Her first name was Wendy, which mildly amused Ed. It reminded him of Al's double, Alfons. Her name sounded extremely similar to Winry's, yet it was spelled differently. He sighed deeply.

_No doubt about it; this is Winry's double._

There was no way she couldn't be. Everything about her matched his childhood friend's appearance, and she was even his automail mechanic!

"Okay then, let's get started! First, get out of those clothes for me so I can get to your leg." Wendy pulled a wrench out of her coat pocket, and Ed and Al exchanged nervous glances. Ed stripped down to his boxers and lay down on the bed, the fresh wave of nostalgia threatening to overcome him; this was so, _so_ familiar.

"Okay, let's do this, Dr. Wendy."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

As soon as they were out of the clinic, fractions of panicked sentences flowed from Al's mouth, consisting of things like "It's Winry!" and "What is she doing here?". Ed eventually put a hand over Al's mouth to shut him up.

"Okay, okay, just calm down!"

Al sighed and nodded, and Ed removed his hand. "This isn't that odd. We were bound to meet her sometime."

Al frowned. "Yeah, but it still feels weird, seeing her again, even though it's not really her."

Ed smiled sadly. "Well, maybe we can get to know her. Be friends, you know?"

Al shrugged. "Let's just go home. I'm hungry."

Ed put an arm around Al and started walking home with his brother. "I'll make us some stew when we get there." 

**A/N: I almost feel like this is too short, but this is all I wanted to do for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll update soon! Feed back is greatly appreciated, both positive and negative!**

**~MorDuTheBronyBear**


	3. Dates and Dreams

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I just haven't had a lot of time to write because of school and band and life in general. This one is WAY longer than the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy. I've edited so much it's not even funny. I'm extremely proud of this, but keep in mind that these probably won't be this long ever again.**

Edward read over the list of items in his hand, making sure he hadn't missed anything. The stew he had prepared the night before had resulted in their pantry emptying, and a trip to the market was essential if they were to eat again.

"Got everything, Brother?"

Ed looked over his shoulder to see his brother walking towards him with his coat.

"Yeah, I think so." He took his coat from the younger boy and slipped it on, shoving the list in one of the deep pockets. He waved goodbye to Al and left, hoping to get the trip done as soon as possible. Shopping was not Edward's favorite pastime, by any means. He only did the shopping so he didn't have to clean the bathroom; that made it Al's responsibility. Of course, Alphonse never complained. He was always thankful that he could still smell the cleaner and feel the moist sponge in his hands, two things that wouldn't have been possible four years prior.

As Ed walked, his mind drifted back, against his will, to his automail checkup and Wendy. She was identical to Winry in every way, and just looking at her made his heart ache in ways he had never felt before. One other emotion was rearing its ugly head through all of the pain, though: love. Ed couldn't understand why he felt the way he did. He loved Winry, not this fake look-alike! But, like in the past, he found himself unable to control what he felt for the lovely blonde.

_She's my automail mechanic. She does what Winry used to do for years. Of course it's going to make me feel... something..._

He just wished he could forget seeing her altogether, but he knew that couldn't happen. He had to visit her at the doctor's office every other month for a checkup, and he wasn't about to risk the last automail Winry made him getting broken because he didn't have the balls to go to his appointment.

His little thundercloud followed him all the way to the market. Shuffling through his pocket, Ed pulled out the list and got to work.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Ah, here it is!"

Wendy pulled the last bottle of mechanical oil off the shelf and placed it in the shopping cart. She glanced at her list and noticed that the only item she hadn't gotten was pain medicine. It was a mild pain reliever that she gave to her patients after their appointments, since their joints often ached after having their nerves connected and such.

Edward Elric came to her mind as she thought about pain. He seemed to have been through quite a lot of pain in his time, having lost two limbs. His rare metal prosthesis also seemed to be much more painful than normal ones, especially in the nerve connecting process, and she felt guilty. Not only was she causing the man pain, but a part of her found the way his muscles clenched and his body trembled during the process _extremely_ attractive.

_He's a gorgeous man, alright. I wonder what he thinks of me?_

As Wendy walked to the isle that held the pharmaceutical supplies, she recalled the way he seemed mesmerized by her, like he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Maybe that was a good sign? Although she had never thought herself to be hot or anything, she supposed the right guy might think differently.

As she turned the corner, her cart collided with someone else's with a loud_ clang!_. Wendy gasped and immediately apologized to whoever it was.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry- Edward?"

The man she had just been thinking of stood before her, looking fairly pissed off. His eyes widened for a brief second before he spoke.

"It's fine. I shouldn't have been thinking so deeply."

In an attempt to ease the tension, Wendy giggled a little. "Same with me. Silly me, thinking about men like I'm a high school girl." She could feel herself blushing terribly.

Ed cocked an eyebrow, but shrugged the odd comment off.

"Yeah, well, see you in a month or so."

With that, Ed was gone.

_Hmmm. He didn't seem very happy to see me._

Wendy finished up with the last of her shopping and went to pay for the items. She turned another corner, more cautiously this time, and her heart did a little jump when she saw Ed at the counter. _Oh man, what do I do? He's probably still mad at me_.

Wendy almost couldn't believe the way she was acting. Normally fearless and confident, something about Ed made her cautious, nervous almost.

_Good grief... I can't hide forever._

Taking a deep breath, she confidently pushed the shopping cart up behind Ed. To her surprise, Edward turned around and flashed a small smile at her.

_So he's _not_ mad?_

She smiled back politely and said, "Sorry again for earlier, Edward. I should've been looking more."

Ed's smile transformed into a grin. "It's perfectly fine, Wendy." His grin faded though, and he seemed like he was thinking very deeply, too deeply for just a casual conversation. Then,

"Uh, I have a question for you."

"Oh?"

A blush crept across the man's cheeks and he ran a hand through his bangs nervously. "Well, um, I-I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch sometime." He gulped and added, just to clarify, "With just me. Not with Al."

Wendy's heart fluttered pleasantly and her cheeks turned a dark crimson hue. "O-of course! That would be great!"

Edward's blush worsened, if that was even possible. He smiled sweetly. "Alright. Meet you here tomorrow, then?"

Wendy nodded. "Sure." She waited as Ed paid for his groceries. Then, as he was about to leave, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye, Ed!"

The poor man made a small choking sound and his eyes widened as he stuttered, "Uh, b-bye!"

He grabbed his bags and walked quickly out of the store, and Wendy found herself admiring how cute he was.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

_What the hell's happened to me!?_

Short, ragged breaths passed over Edward's lips as he walked home. His heart was racing, and he could still feel Wendy's lips on his cheek. Oh, how he would've loved to have kissed her lips right there in the store...

_Stop, stop!_

He came to a halt and dropped his bags on the ground, putting his face in his hands. Mumbling, he wondered aloud, "Why the hell did I ask her out?" He pictured the real Winry back home in his mind, the one whom he'd confessed his love to so many years ago. As if she could hear him, Edward whispered to his hands, "I'm sorry, Win."

Ed picked his bags up and continued the journey home quickly, seriously questioning his mental state and wondering how on earth he was going to tell Alphonse.

:::::::::::::::::::::::

At the sound of the front door slamming, Alphonse dropped the soapy sponge in the tub and peeked his head around the corner to see Ed looking... Well, Alphonse couldn't exactly place the emotion that was reflected upon his brother's face, but he did know that something was wrong. Al rinsed his hands off and went to the kitchen to help Edward put the groceries away, and to hopefully find out what was wrong.

When he got there, Ed's back was turned, and Alphonse could see that his shoulders were tensed as he shoved bread into the cabinet. Taking a deep breath, Al addressed his brother.

"Um, Edward?"

Blond bangs fluttered around the elder's face as his head whipped around, his eyes wide and cheeks flushed.

"Oh! Hey, Al! I was just, uh, putting groceries up."

Realization hit Alphonse like a bolt of alchemical energy; he had seen that sort of blush before! It had been years, but Al would recognize it anywhere.

"Brother, have you been thinking about someone, uh, special, so to speak?"

Edward doubled over suddenly, choking on his own saliva. "Brother!" Alphonse rushed over to Ed and whacked him on the back, helping him breathe again. Once he had some oxygen in his lungs, Ed gave his little brother an exasperated look, his words coming out in chunks in between his coughing.

"Dammit... Al... Don't talk about... things like that..."

Al couldn't help but giggle a little. "Well, I guess that answers my question..."

Ed crossed his arms and frowned, his blush still going on strong. "So what if I was?"

Alphonse smiled at his brother's embarrassment; it was always entertaining to see him freak out that way. Matters of the heart were never Edward's strong point, ever since they were boys. Edward had always loved Winry, but, to Al's knowledge, had always been too much of a wimp to tell her anything.

"That's perfectly fine, Brother. But can I ask who it is?"

Ed shook his head. "Let's talk about this later. The milk is getting warm."

Al nodded, grabbing the milk and walking over to the fridge, his curiosity increasing with every second. What would be so important that they had to save the conversation for later?

:::::::::::::::::::::::

It was quite a while before Alphonse questioned Edward again. After the brothers had finished their dinner, the dishes were piled into the sink and they assumed their nightly positions, Ed at the sink doing the washing and Al standing nearby at the counter with a clean, dry towel, waiting to dry the dishes and put them away. That was one of their favorite places to talk; for whatever reason, the conversations just seemed to flow easier while they were working together, the way it did back in their journeying days.

Alphonse put the last dish into the cabinet and turned to his brother, smirking ever so slightly.

"So, Edward, who were you thinking about earlier?"

He saw Ed twitch a little as he squeezed the soap out of the sponge. Edward sighed deeply, turning to face the younger. "A-Alphonse, I'm not sure I should tell you."

Al's smirk faded when he heard the pain in his brother's voice. He put a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Is everything alright, Brother?"

"Not really. I did something really stupid today, Al. I let my emotions take over."

Al's soft gray eyes met his brother's dull golden ones. "You know you can talk to me, Brother. I won't judge you."

Ed gave him a sad smile. "I know. And thank you." Taking a deep breath, Ed continued, "I saw Wendy at the store, and before I could stop myself, I asked her out. We have a date tomorrow."

Al gasped, eyes wide. "But, Edward, you just met her!"

Ed frowned. "I know, I know! I just..." The distraught man broke off with a harsh sigh, shaking Al's hand off of his shoulder. "She's so much like Winry, and I..." Ed looked his little brother in the eyes. "I think I'm in love, Al."

Without a word, Al ran out of the kitchen, tears threatening to fall. Up the stairs and into his bedroom he went, shutting and locking the door behind him with a loud _bang! _that all their neighbors probably heard. The boy collapsed in his bed, crying into the pillow, his brunette hair covering his red face as he sobbed.

"H-how could Ed d-do this?!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::.

Downstairs, Ed was in the exact same spot as earlier, simply staring, mouth agape, at where his brother had been before he took off like a rocket. Ed sighed and shrugged to himself, wondering what happened to Alphonse all of a the kitchen and turning the lights in the house off, Edward went upstairs to his bedroom, which was across from Al's, to get ready for bed. As he tiptoed past Al's door, he could hear his poor brother's muffled sobbing; Al's cries were like daggers to his heart, especially when Edward himself was the cause of his beloved brother's pain.

_I wish I could go see about him, but he seems way too upset to talk right now._

Reluctantly, Edward went to his own room to prepare for bed. That night, he didn't sleep very well. His guilt over upsetting Alphonse and confusion over what had upset him kept him up nearly all night, and when he did sleep, he dreamed of Winry.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_Her heart leaped with pure joy as Edward approached her, even though there was a slight frown on his face. What was wrong with him? She looked at the shopping cart and noticed that the items were strewn about; there must have been a minor collision there in the supermarket._

_"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"_

_Edward cut her off. "It's fine. I shouldn't have been thinking so deeply."_

_She attempted to smile. "Same with me. Silly me, thinking about men like I'm a high school girl."_

_Ed didn't look quite sure how to handle that response, so merely replied, "Yeah, well, see you in a month or so."_

_And then he was gone. A few moments later, at the checkout, she spotted him again. The man she loved so much, right in front of her once again. She pushed her cart over to him and was relieved to see his grin._

_"Sorry again for earlier, Edward. I should've been looking more."_

_That beautiful smile made her melt inside as he spoke. "It's perfectly fine, Wendy. Uh, I have a question for you."_

_"Oh?"_

_Ed looked more embarrassed than she had seen him in a while as he continued._

_"Well, um, I-I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch sometime."_

_For a second, her heart stopped beating. Then, Ed continued._

_"With just me. Not with Al."_

_She nodded quickly, understanding perfectly what he meant._

_"O-of course! That would be great!"_

_Ed grinned, cheeks red as the coats he used to wear back in his adventuring days._

_"Alright. Meet you here tomorrow, then?"_

_It was her turn to smile widely now. "Sure." Before she could stop herself, she found her lips landing on his soft cheek._

_"Bye, Ed!"_

_She held in a giggle as his eyes widened as large as the tomatoes in his shopping cart. He gathered his things and replied, "Uh, b-bye!"_

_Then he was gone, and the world was dissolving..._

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Winry woke with a gasp, sitting straight up in her small bed and breathing heavily. Making sure she wasn't still wherever that was in her dream, she reached under the covers for her wrench; when her hand wrapped around the cold metal, her heart sank a little as she realized it really had been a dream.

"That's the most realistic dream I've ever had... I must miss Ed more than I thought."

Getting out of bed and stretching, Winry thought back to what Izumi's husband told her long ago, when Al was trying to bring Ed home. He had described Al dreaming about being with Ed in some other world, building rockets or something. She wondered, for a moment, if that's what she had just experienced, being in some other world with Edward.

She shrugged and brushed out her long hair, deciding that whatever it was, she definitely wanted to meet Ed in her dreams again soon.

**A/N: I hope this chapter peaked some people's interests! Be sure to follow and fav, and reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**

**By the way, I am currently looking for a beta reader! If you're interested, review or PM me!**

**~MorDuTheBronyBear**


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